Liam U. Taylor
@liamtaylor.bsky.social
(they/them)
Doherty Postdoc in Biology - Bowdoin College - BSS Kent Island
Doherty Postdoc in Biology - Bowdoin College - BSS Kent Island
Pinned
Evolution of manakin plumage maturation now out early look @sse-evolution.bsky.social
(Phylo-)Devo-evo, plumage, and social signaling
Bonkers system that reshaped how I think about both development and evolution.
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
(Phylo-)Devo-evo, plumage, and social signaling
Bonkers system that reshaped how I think about both development and evolution.
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Awesome!
"Embryology reveals a morphological signature of ancestral diurnality maintained in a nocturnal lineage"
By Griffing et al. in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
(Are there any similar analyses for Nocturnal Caprimulgiformes -> Diurnal Apodidae / Trochilidae ? )
"Embryology reveals a morphological signature of ancestral diurnality maintained in a nocturnal lineage"
By Griffing et al. in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
(Are there any similar analyses for Nocturnal Caprimulgiformes -> Diurnal Apodidae / Trochilidae ? )
Embryology reveals a morphological signature of ancestral diurnality maintained in a nocturnal lineage
Abstract. Evolutionary transitions to diurnality are often associated with specialized ocular morphology, such as pits (foveae) in the retina. Foveae are r
doi.org
February 16, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Awesome!
"Embryology reveals a morphological signature of ancestral diurnality maintained in a nocturnal lineage"
By Griffing et al. in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
(Are there any similar analyses for Nocturnal Caprimulgiformes -> Diurnal Apodidae / Trochilidae ? )
"Embryology reveals a morphological signature of ancestral diurnality maintained in a nocturnal lineage"
By Griffing et al. in @journal-evo.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
(Are there any similar analyses for Nocturnal Caprimulgiformes -> Diurnal Apodidae / Trochilidae ? )
to correct the record this is a pretty dumb, probably factually incorrect, (and anyways meaningless) comparison, but what I hope to imply is that insofar as one can consider shooting a Slaty-backed Gull to protect a Common Murre, one can also consider feeding a Common Murre to a Slaty-backed Gull 😅😇
this is a subtweet that won't make sense to anyone but I'm pretty sure that the number of Common Murres that die from *oiling* in *Canada alone* is greater than the *world population* of Slaty-backed Gulls
February 15, 2026 at 10:56 PM
to correct the record this is a pretty dumb, probably factually incorrect, (and anyways meaningless) comparison, but what I hope to imply is that insofar as one can consider shooting a Slaty-backed Gull to protect a Common Murre, one can also consider feeding a Common Murre to a Slaty-backed Gull 😅😇
this is a subtweet that won't make sense to anyone but I'm pretty sure that the number of Common Murres that die from *oiling* in *Canada alone* is greater than the *world population* of Slaty-backed Gulls
February 15, 2026 at 10:35 PM
this is a subtweet that won't make sense to anyone but I'm pretty sure that the number of Common Murres that die from *oiling* in *Canada alone* is greater than the *world population* of Slaty-backed Gulls
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Oxford friends! I'm giving the @egioxford.bsky.social seminar on Friday. Pop along! egioxford.web.ox.ac.uk/event/adrift...
February 15, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Oxford friends! I'm giving the @egioxford.bsky.social seminar on Friday. Pop along! egioxford.web.ox.ac.uk/event/adrift...
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Are Great Tits becoming Not So-Great Tits? New preprint from @davididiaquez.bsky.social et al. documenting decline in mass of adult Great Tits in @wythamwoods.bsky.social of ~1 s.d. over 47 years - results from carry-over effect of increased population density during the nestling period. Thread ⬇️
We have published a new pre-print showing a decline in great tit adult and nestling mass of around 1 gram in 47 y. [rate of approx. -0.040 Hadanes] With @ellafcole.bsky.social, @devisatarkar.bsky.social, Sam. Crofts, @mcmahok.bsky.social & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Are Great Tits becoming Not So-Great Tits? New preprint from @davididiaquez.bsky.social et al. documenting decline in mass of adult Great Tits in @wythamwoods.bsky.social of ~1 s.d. over 47 years - results from carry-over effect of increased population density during the nestling period. Thread ⬇️
#Phylogenetics slides - still wonder if my students will get this right on the exam
February 15, 2026 at 6:22 PM
#Phylogenetics slides - still wonder if my students will get this right on the exam
Whether you are interested in birds or not, I encourage you to read this eBird checklist by Brian Holbrook, whoever that may be.
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
No spoilers but trailer screenshot included
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
No spoilers but trailer screenshot included
February 14, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Whether you are interested in birds or not, I encourage you to read this eBird checklist by Brian Holbrook, whoever that may be.
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
No spoilers but trailer screenshot included
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
No spoilers but trailer screenshot included
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Mike Coston: afludiary.blogspot.com/2026/02/natu...
Nature Comms: Assessing HPAI-H5 Transmission Risk Across Wild Bird Migratory Flyways in the United States
#19,048 The world has been watching HPAI H5N1 for nearly 3 decades, but today's HPAI H5 viruses are a far cry from the A/Goose/Guangdong/1...
afludiary.blogspot.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Mike Coston: afludiary.blogspot.com/2026/02/natu...
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
time-traveling (late) post visiting from August 2025!
.002 Seashells and Talking Spoons
Sometimes at work, I get to tape a PCB to a spoon and make people listen to it tell a story before they're allowed to eat dinner.
omayagawd.leaflet.pub
February 10, 2026 at 1:38 AM
time-traveling (late) post visiting from August 2025!
every time someone says "stochastic parrot" I want to be like NO!!!
not to defend AI but to defend parrots, which are subtle and sick and full of joie de vivre
not to defend AI but to defend parrots, which are subtle and sick and full of joie de vivre
February 10, 2026 at 1:01 AM
every time someone says "stochastic parrot" I want to be like NO!!!
not to defend AI but to defend parrots, which are subtle and sick and full of joie de vivre
not to defend AI but to defend parrots, which are subtle and sick and full of joie de vivre
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
I am elated & humbled that my upcoming monograph (mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282...) was chosen as one of the #openaccess titles for Spring 2026. Thanks to @mitpress.bsky.social's Direct to Open (D2O) model & the hundreds of participating libraries that make it possible! #philsky #HPS #evosky #HPbio
February 9, 2026 at 7:19 PM
I am elated & humbled that my upcoming monograph (mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282...) was chosen as one of the #openaccess titles for Spring 2026. Thanks to @mitpress.bsky.social's Direct to Open (D2O) model & the hundreds of participating libraries that make it possible! #philsky #HPS #evosky #HPbio
you ever literally sweep everything under a rug? makes everything so easy
February 7, 2026 at 4:33 PM
you ever literally sweep everything under a rug? makes everything so easy
Starting Absolution by @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social and I genuinely cannot believe I like it as much or better than the first three -- had resisted starting because the ending of Acceptance left such an impression but wow worth it! Especially if you've done field biology 🐊
February 6, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Starting Absolution by @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social and I genuinely cannot believe I like it as much or better than the first three -- had resisted starting because the ending of Acceptance left such an impression but wow worth it! Especially if you've done field biology 🐊
Accepted at Animal Behaviour! "Permanent and temporary mate-switching in a long-lived seabird: Insights from a 64-year study."
Kent Island's storm-petrel dataset gives some nice detail on how these birds spend years together, break up, and even get back together.
Led by @ingridpollet.bsky.social !
Kent Island's storm-petrel dataset gives some nice detail on how these birds spend years together, break up, and even get back together.
Led by @ingridpollet.bsky.social !
February 6, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Accepted at Animal Behaviour! "Permanent and temporary mate-switching in a long-lived seabird: Insights from a 64-year study."
Kent Island's storm-petrel dataset gives some nice detail on how these birds spend years together, break up, and even get back together.
Led by @ingridpollet.bsky.social !
Kent Island's storm-petrel dataset gives some nice detail on how these birds spend years together, break up, and even get back together.
Led by @ingridpollet.bsky.social !
pitch: eco/evo job board without the Notes columns
February 6, 2026 at 9:49 PM
pitch: eco/evo job board without the Notes columns
i'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that we put the wrong guys in charge of telling us about the biology of group social behavior :) :) :) :)
February 5, 2026 at 7:26 PM
i'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that we put the wrong guys in charge of telling us about the biology of group social behavior :) :) :) :)
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Sifting through Animal Behavior Society newsletters and came across a castigation of the field made by Dutch ethologist Adriaan Kortlandt in 1990. He states, "Ethology is supposed to be the study of behaviour, but the behaviour has become invisible." He also used to fight goats during lectures.
February 4, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Sifting through Animal Behavior Society newsletters and came across a castigation of the field made by Dutch ethologist Adriaan Kortlandt in 1990. He states, "Ethology is supposed to be the study of behaviour, but the behaviour has become invisible." He also used to fight goats during lectures.
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
reading about organisms that aren’t your specialty is like
margins of the quorbus eplungulate, ploobular processes bent posteriorly towards the foobulum
define term “eplungulate”
- lacking plungae. synonym: thubulous
margins of the quorbus eplungulate, ploobular processes bent posteriorly towards the foobulum
define term “eplungulate”
- lacking plungae. synonym: thubulous
February 2, 2026 at 10:14 PM
reading about organisms that aren’t your specialty is like
margins of the quorbus eplungulate, ploobular processes bent posteriorly towards the foobulum
define term “eplungulate”
- lacking plungae. synonym: thubulous
margins of the quorbus eplungulate, ploobular processes bent posteriorly towards the foobulum
define term “eplungulate”
- lacking plungae. synonym: thubulous
Like I always say, "RTI&W&WABTW&IYTSTRHWACWCYANGAYJ"
(Robert Trivers Is & Was & Will Always Be The Worst & If You Tell Students To Read His Work About Conflict Without Context You Are Not Good At Your Job)
(Robert Trivers Is & Was & Will Always Be The Worst & If You Tell Students To Read His Work About Conflict Without Context You Are Not Good At Your Job)
don't mind me, just finding lots of bread crumbs showing Epstein and the League of Pederasts were a driving force in pushing transphobic hate.
This email was sent in October 2014, at the start of the current anti trans political campaign and astroturphing.
This email was sent in October 2014, at the start of the current anti trans political campaign and astroturphing.
February 2, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Like I always say, "RTI&W&WABTW&IYTSTRHWACWCYANGAYJ"
(Robert Trivers Is & Was & Will Always Be The Worst & If You Tell Students To Read His Work About Conflict Without Context You Are Not Good At Your Job)
(Robert Trivers Is & Was & Will Always Be The Worst & If You Tell Students To Read His Work About Conflict Without Context You Are Not Good At Your Job)
Excited that our paper is headed for publication at Animal Behaviour! - "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird."
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
February 2, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Excited that our paper is headed for publication at Animal Behaviour! - "Experimental study of social signaling through delayed plumage maturation in a colony-nesting seabird."
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Our experiments show how the unusual, brown plumages of young seabirds can help reduce aggression at the breeding colony.
Stay classy Richard
January 31, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Stay classy Richard
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Very cool new exhibits at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History featuring some cool dinosaurs, including Archaeopteryx and Dodos, as well as learning lessons about extinction.
January 31, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Very cool new exhibits at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History featuring some cool dinosaurs, including Archaeopteryx and Dodos, as well as learning lessons about extinction.
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Our lab will be boycotting biotech vendors that have contracts with ICE (e.g., Fisher, Agilent), and telling them why. If you google “vendorname usa spending”, you can see purchases for specific depts including ICE on usaspending.gov. Please talk to your labs and email your vendors!
January 30, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Our lab will be boycotting biotech vendors that have contracts with ICE (e.g., Fisher, Agilent), and telling them why. If you google “vendorname usa spending”, you can see purchases for specific depts including ICE on usaspending.gov. Please talk to your labs and email your vendors!
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
R.I.P. Catherine O’Hara. Absolute icon.🥺🥀
January 30, 2026 at 6:56 PM
R.I.P. Catherine O’Hara. Absolute icon.🥺🥀
If I quit academia who will tell the people all this important stuff I just made up?
January 30, 2026 at 5:27 AM
If I quit academia who will tell the people all this important stuff I just made up?